Food stamp participants, people in poverty, and unemployed people, 1980-2006
Food stamp participation tends to mirror economic conditions
Millions

Line graph with 3 lines and 28 points per line.

Line 1, Food stamp participants.
Point 1, 1980 is 21.1.
Point 2, 1981 is 22.4.
Point 3, 1982 is 21.7.
Point 4, 1983 is 21.6.
Point 5, 1984 is 20.9.
Point 6, 1985 is 19.9.
Point 7, 1986 is 19.4.
Point 8, 1987 is 19.1.
Point 9, 1988 is 18.6.
Point 10, 1989 is 18.8.
Point 11, 1990 is 20.1.
Point 12, 1991 is 22.6.
Point 13, 1992 is 25.4.
Point 14, 1993 is 27.
Point 15, 1994 is 27.5.
Point 16, 1995 is 26.6.
Point 17, 1996 is 25.5.
Point 18, 1997 is 22.9.
Point 19, 1998 is 19.8.
Point 20, 1999 is 18.2.
Point 21, 2000 is 17.2.
Point 22, 2001 is 17.3.
Point 23, 2002 is 19.1.
Point 24, 2003 is 21.3.
Point 25, 2004 is 23.9.
Point 26, 2005 is 25.7.
Point 27, 2006 is 26.7.
Point 28, 2007 is 26.5.
Line 2, People in poverty.
Point 1, 1980 is 29.3.
Point 2, 1981 is 31.8.
Point 3, 1982 is 34.4.
Point 4, 1983 is 35.3.
Point 5, 1984 is 33.7.
Point 6, 1985 is 33.1.
Point 7, 1986 is 32.4.
Point 8, 1987 is 32.2.
Point 9, 1988 is 31.7.
Point 10, 1989 is 31.5.
Point 11, 1990 is 33.6.
Point 12, 1991 is 35.7.
Point 13, 1992 is 38.
Point 14, 1993 is 39.3.
Point 15, 1994 is 38.1.
Point 16, 1995 is 36.4.
Point 17, 1996 is 36.5.
Point 18, 1997 is 35.6.
Point 19, 1998 is 34.5.
Point 20, 1999 is 32.3.
Point 21, 2000 is 31.6.
Point 22, 2001 is 32.9.
Point 23, 2002 is 34.6.
Point 24, 2003 is 35.9.
Point 25, 2004 is 37.
Point 26, 2005 is 37.
Point 27, 2006 is 36.5.
Point 28, 2007 is No data.
Line 3, Unemployed people (not seasonally adjusted).
Point 1, 1980 is 7.6.
Point 2, 1981 is 8.3.
Point 3, 1982 is 10.7.
Point 4, 1983 is 10.7.
Point 5, 1984 is 8.5.
Point 6, 1985 is 8.3.
Point 7, 1986 is 8.2.
Point 8, 1987 is 7.4.
Point 9, 1988 is 6.7.
Point 10, 1989 is 6.5.
Point 11, 1990 is 7.
Point 12, 1991 is 8.6.
Point 13, 1992 is 9.6.
Point 14, 1993 is 8.9.
Point 15, 1994 is 8.
Point 16, 1995 is 7.4.
Point 17, 1996 is 7.2.
Point 18, 1997 is 6.7.
Point 19, 1998 is 6.2.
Point 20, 1999 is 5.9.
Point 21, 2000 is 5.7.
Point 22, 2001 is 6.8.
Point 23, 2002 is 8.4.
Point 24, 2003 is 8.8.
Point 25, 2004 is 8.1.
Point 26, 2005 is 7.6.
Point 27, 2006 is 7.
Point 28, 2007 is No data.

People in poverty
Food stamp participants
Unemployed people (not seasonally adjusted)
Note: Fiscal 2007 food stamp participation data are preliminary and subject to revision. Source: Data for food stamp participants from Food and Nutrition Service, USDA; data for people in poverty from Census Bureau; data for unemployed people from Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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